Railroad refrigerator car



July 18, l1939. A. J. HEPP ET Al. 2,166,867

RAILROAD REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed May 2, 1939y A L F 1,

Patented July 18, i939 PATENT OFFICE RAILROAD REFRIGERATOR CAR Anthony J. Hepp and Raymond A. Feind, Chicago, Ill.

Application May 2, 1939, Serial No. 271,316

2 Claims.

Our invention relates to a refrigerator car particularly adapted -for railroad use.

Among the objects of our invention is to provide a railroad refrigerator car so constructed as to provide increased refrigerating eciency with a decreased consumption of ice, so' as to permit longer hauls without the necessity of reicing the cars while in transit, and such other objects, advantages' and capabilities as will later more fully appear and which are inherently possessed by our invention.

While we have shown in the accompanying drawing a preferred form of our invention yet we 'desire it understood that the same is susceptible of modification and change without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Referring to the drawing Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of our railroad refrigerator car partly .broken away to show a cross section of one of the ice containers; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the oor of our railroad refrigerator car; Fig. 3 is an 4enlarged cross sectional view of the ice container and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed cross sectional view of -the well trap drawn on line l-'4 of Fig. 2.

The embodiment selected to illustrate our invention comprises a railroad car having a body portion I I) with a hollow interior II formed by walls I2, roof I3 and iloor I 4 suitably insulated by any desired means, such as heat resistant linings, llings or the like. 'I'he body portion Ill is suitably supported and attached to wheels (not shown).

Ice containers or bunkers I5 are positioned and attached by suitable means to the body member I II of the car adjacent each of the ends thereof and are adapted to receive ice through open-l ings IG in the roof I3 and store the same. The raised bottom floor I'I of the bunkers I5 have openings I8 through which the water melted from the ice drips to the floor I4.

'I'he floor I4 is preferably level and has a plurality of spaced deep, narrow grooves or channels I9 extending longitudinally from the ends of the car to a substantially centrally disposed depressed portion or well trap 20, which extends laterally across the car.

In use the bunkers I5 on each end of the car are filled with ice. As the ice melts, the water, sti1l.cold and having heat .absorbing properties, drips onto floor I4 and is prevented from splashing into the 'loading section by splash plates 2l.. The cold water slowly moves toward the center of the car where it falls into the well trap 20 and leaves the car through exits 22.

vThe water is of such a low temperature as to have sui'llcient refrigerating qualities. By permitting .it to drain over ltheiloor to the center of the car instead oi' allowing it to escape at ends of car, as such cars are usually constructed, it is possible to makemaximum use of such refrigerating qualities contained in the water. The consumption of ice is substantially lessened, and the refrigerating efficiency of the car increased.

The decrease in consumption of ice and the increased eiliciency of the car will permit longer hauls over the railroads Without the necessity of reicing the cars while in transit.

We provide a cover 23 for the well trap 20 adapted to iit within the well trap so that the cover is flush with the tops of the grooves ISL The side walls 24 of the cover 23 are groovedto permit the water in the grooves I9 to pass into the well trap when the cover is in place.

It is within the spirit of our inventionI that our iloorl4 may omit the grooves and that it may have a slight incline downwardly toward invention, we

openings at their bottoms so that the cold wa- V ter melted from the -ice will drip on the floor and continue its refrigerating qualities while slowly moving in said grooves on the floor from the bunkers to the well trap and. out the exit.

2. A railroad refrigerator car having'a hollow interior, side walls, a roof, a level floor, a pair of bunkers for holding ice at the opposite ends of the car, an opening in the roof above each bunker for filling the same with ice, a depressed well trap centrally positioned in the oor of said car and extending laterally across the same, said well trap having exits leading to the exterior of the car, a. plurality of spaced deep channels extending longitudinally in the floor from each end thereof and leading to the well trap, said bunkers having openings at their bottom portions to permit the water melted from the ice to fall on the iloor, said bunkers having splash plates to prevent the water from splashing into the loading section of the car, said grooves adapted to direct said cold water with its continued refriglerating qualities to said well trap, a cover for said well trap tted within said well trap and flush with the tops of the grooves, said cover having side walls having spaced openings to permit water in the grooves to enter therein to pass into the well trap and out of the exits.

ANTHNY J. HEPP. RAYMQND A. FErND. 

